Absolutely superb footage..... i wished id seen this for real. All those nationals, all those wonderful sounds , all that clag !! Such wonderful times 😊😊😊
The buses with the long roof heater pods are part of the initial production of the National. The short pod was introduced when the interior colour scheme was altered which included a new design of grab pole and also the battery box was moved to beneath the drivers cab to improve weight distribution and handling. These buse have lasted so well due to the amount of research that Leyland carried out into corrosion protection particularly on the underframe components. A lot of ergonomic work was carried out on the design of the driving compartment to accomodate all sizes of driver including ladies as they were seen as being potential crew in the future. The idea was that, apart from it's size, the National should be as easy to drive as a car. I think we managed that.
Apart from their modern looks on the outside that foreshadowed bus design for years to come, that cab layout still looks radical and advanced today. People overlook that aspect. The Olympian, Tiger, Lynx and Titan were direct beneficiaries of the National's cab features, including the air operated accelerator -an early fly by wire system!
I think they were powder coated underneath. I gather that this eventually wore off and then old Nationals developed major rust problems, unless they were lucky enough to have silvering or some other paint applied underneath. I wonder if that's one reason a number of supposedly preserved Nationals have fallen by the wayside- although it's easier said than done, preserved should mean preserved.
So many nationals, absolutely amazing footage and the sound of them just gives me nostalgic and who doesn't miss these old school rogues i do compared to the streetlites/e200s nowadays, 510 national mk1 all the way
There was a time when the Leyland Nationals were the backbone of British bus services. I had countless rides on them as a youngster. Can't mistake that very distinctive sound they made! This extraordinary convoy footage will certainly delight the enthusiasts. They don't make them like that anymore!
@@crazyleyland5106 That was part of the experience. One of the enduring memories for me was in 83 sitting in the rear right corner seeing the jet of back cloaking smoke as it was pulling away.
I rode on some of these when they were in service with Halton Transport in Widnes, LMB 947P and MLG 960P are some I recognise and came into the fleet from Crosville. All that clag from the exhausts reminds of standing at the bus stop as they pulled away. The ex Halton vehicles are the ones with the license plate in between the headlamps, this was a Halton spec so the towing jaw was easily accessible.
If you fit a hydrogen 24 volt electric generator to those Leyland engines all the smoke is eliminated,the oil stays golden colour next 10K miles & mpg is improved 10-12 % just from filling the hydrogen generator with pure rain water 🇬🇧😎👍
If you mean Nationals in general, there are a number in preservation, although 2 s- reg Eastern National LNs that were originally preserved were scrapped in spring 2019. I don't know if any of these South Riding ones survive though.
wholesale Trout I do not know exactly; I think both were stored outside. I know some Nationals developed major rust problems in later years, presumably the powder coating underneath finally wore away. Both had been off road for a few years, one had had its radiator removed. Probably easier said than done, but preserved should mean preserved.
JESUS.GAS MASKS ON FOLKS -) This brings back memories of driving Nationals (1 and 2s) with Sheffield Omnibus. Thanks for the upload my friend. Many small companies were operating in Sheffield back then,and it worked quit well for most,but not all .
The excrement of a very poorly designed and built British naturally aspirated diesel engine. Remember, these engines were actually designed and built by British Leyland. It's a wonder they ran at all, dreadful as they were. Many were replaced with Volvo engines within just a couple years of service. They started considerably easier, ran much more efficiently, made more power, and lasted for years of faithful service. All things this engine could not do, due to the inept company behind it's design and manufacture.
Actually the 510 was turbocharged. Volvo re- engining came later. I assume the first re- engining was by Crosville, with their clever Gardner conversions. Then DAF in Western Travel Nationals, then Volvo in others elsewhere, and a few Cummins. Myself I think Leyland should have have offered a Gardner option. The 510 was just about manageable in Nationals, but I don't know enough about how they performed in lorries (Leyland Bison and Buffalo) to comment about these.
@@Vercus100Leyland were trying to be clever. They created the "headless wonder" to eliminate head gasket problems, presumably in the O.600 types, although they were a sound design that first appeared in the late 40s. In some ways, the O.500 series engines were ahead of their time, in that they were small and high revving, rather like more modern bus engines. Except that they were very high emission. Even back in the 80s, before people were concerned about air pollution, I did not like the amount of clag they could produce. It is possible to keep it in check to some extent.
